Up and down the IndyCar paddock at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg there were smiles as wide as the front stretch at the start finish line.

It was late Sunday afternoon and most drivers and team members were packing up to get back to their home bases whether it be Indianapolis for the Andretti Autosport team or Charlotte for the Penske and Ganassi teams.

There was a general feeling among the group that James Hinchcliffe’s win earlier in the day signalled a changing of the guard in a series that for too long has been, at best, an afterthought in the world of auto racing.

Just like Brad Keselowski winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship last November brought with it a blast of fresh air and new fans, so too might Hinchcliffe’s win do that for the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Certainly the 26-year-old Canadian from Oakville doesn’t fit the mold of what many think is an IndyCar driver. He is as media savvy as anyone in professional sports. He has developed a huge social-media following and is a polished television commentator away from the track.

And he is universally well-liked in the IndyCar community, something that is as rare as a two-headed dime.

After his win — keeping three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves at bay over the final 26 laps — he was praised by both teammates and other competitors, who all agreed a Hinchcliffe win was a win for the series.

“He was very close (to winning) last year,” Castroneves said. “It is so good for the series, that’s for sure.”

Castroneves didn’t name names, because his would be among them, but the inference was clear, the series has been dominated by the same handful of drivers in the past half-dozen seasons: Dario Franchitti, Will Power, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon and Castroneves.

To be truthful, none of those, with the possible exception of Castroneves, have a real connection to the current generation of sports fans.

“I’m sure he’s going to succeed, continue to succeed in the future, no question about it. He did a helluva job (on Sunday).”

Marco Andretti, Hinchcliffe’s teammate at Andretti Autosport, said much the same thing — that IndyCar needs more James Hinchcliffe.

“It’s great to have a personality like him win because he’ll have some fun,” Andretti said. “He’s been knocking on the door, working so hard. It’s well-deserved.

“I’m happy for my friend. He’s a great kid, a lot of fun off the track as well. If it wasn’t going to be us, it’s cool to see him get his first.”

Team owner Michael Andretti said Hinchcliffe’s win accentuates the fact that the series has personalities and that should translate into more fans watching on television and in the stands.

“It’s only positive,” he said. “(Hinchcliffe’s win) is good for all of us. This whole field is so full of talent, such great personalities. It’s great we have the mix we have.”

Hinchcliffe said his personality is just a reflection of who he is and that it is not something he dreamed up to promote himself.

In fact, he said, he often worries people might not take him seriously because of his outgoing nature.

“I’ve always tried to be myself at the racetrack,” Hinchcliffe said. “I think some people at some points in my career thought that maybe I wasn’t taking my job seriously enough or something like that.

“But I think when you look at the last three laps of this race, the pressure we were under ... to keep our head down, hold off a guy like Helio, hopefully it proves that you can be a joker off the track but still get the job done on the track.”

Hinchcliffe doesn’t deny that his win at St. Petersburg is going to be good for his career.

“I think that fans certainly like a winner,” he said. “Now we can call ourselves that. We’ll see if the fans respond to it. Usually they like a guy that can win. Maybe this will help boost me up a little bit.”

He is not ready, however, to declare himself the favourite to win the IndyCar championship. After all there are 18 mores races left in the season.

“It’s so competitive, there’s so many guys willing to pounce on anything you do wrong, whether it’s in the pits, making a bad setup call or a driving error, people are going to take advantage of that,.” Hinchcliffe said. “So I think the guy at the end of the year, or girl, that made the least mistakes as a team on the whole, those are going to be the guys you’re going to see hoisting the championship trophy.”

At the same time, anyone who doesn’t consider him championship threat just wasn’t paying attention on Sunday.

FEUD LEADS TO HAMLIN CRASH

While James Hinchcliffe was celebrating his first IndyCar win at Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Denny Hamlin was being transported to hospital 4,000 kms away after a horrific crash at Auto Club Speedway.

The crash was a result of round two of the ongoing feud between Hamlin and his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano.

On the final lap in Fontana, Calif., Logano moved up on Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota and both cars went into the wall, with Hamlin then moving down across the track hitting the inside wall square on.

Hamlin collapsed after being removed from his car.

He was reported awake and alert in the infield care centre but was taken to a local hospital after complaining about lower back pain.

It is a testament to the safety of the new Generation 6 cars that he wasn’t more seriously injured — but it does raise concerns about how much longer will NASCAR allow drivers to use 3,4000-pound cars as weapons.

Logano, who also was in a confrontation with Tony Stewart after the race, said he wasn’t the least bit sorry he ran Hamlin into the wall.

“I wanted to win that race. I feel like I had the car to win the race ... It was just racing for the lead. I guess we’re even now. He’ll think twice before he does something next time.”

Sponsored Links

James Hinchcliffe's Indy win a breath of fresh air

Up and down the IndyCar paddock at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg there were smiles as wide as the front stretch at the start finish line.

It was late Sunday afternoon and most drivers and team members were packing up to get back to their home bases whether it be Indianapolis for the Andretti Autosport team or Charlotte for the Penske and Ganassi teams.

There was a general feeling among the group that James Hinchcliffe’s win earlier in the day signalled a changing of the guard in a series that for too long has been, at best, an afterthought in the world of auto racing.

About the author

Other Stories

Last season, Gary Klutt drove the wheels off the No. 59 Legendary Motorcar Pioneer Family Pools Dodge in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series on the way to Rookie of the Year honours in Canada’s only national auto racing series.

BOWMANVILLE ­— There will be two Canadians contending for the win in Sunday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and both have been picked as favourites to drive away with the trophy and the first place share of the purse.